Frameless and trussless selfsupporting building



Dec. 15, 1970 K. B. CHAPMAN 3,546,326

FRAMELESS AND TRUSSLESS SELF-SUPPORTING BUILDING Original Filed Aug. 17, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l 24 INVIZN'IOR.

#900919? J? (flap/27a Dec. 15, 1970 K. B. CHAPMAN FRAMELESS AND TRUSSLESS SELF-SUPPORTING BUILDING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 17, 1967 United States Patent O 3,546,826 FRAMELESS AND TRUSSLESS SELF- SUPPORTING BUILDING Kenneth B. Chapman, Houston, Tex.

(P.(). Box 735, Bellaire, Tex. 77401) Continuation of application Ser. No. 661,249, Aug. 17, 1967. This application July 2, 1969, Ser. No. 845,615 Int. Cl. E041) 1/32; E04d N36 US. Cl. 5223 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Building structure and method of assembly utilizing a plurality of arcuately configured panel members positioned side by side. The outer face of each member is concavely formed so that adjacent sides are generally perpendicular to the building floor to provide structural support. Adjacent panel members are fastened together at the perpendicular sides which bend inwardly at their upper edges to improve structural properties. Cables anchored to the ground and following the curvature of the panels to the building apex are attached to place the panel members in tension. Cables may also be installed around the inside periphery of the building or from one side of the building to the other to maintain tension on the panel members. Sealing means at the building apex and juncture of adjacent panels are also provided.

CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 661,249 filed on Aug. 17, 1967 and now abandoned in favor of the present application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention pertains to building structures. More specifically it pertains to buildings constructed with preformed panel members which are self-reinforcing eliminating framework or truss requirements.

Description of the prior art There is a natural desire to decrease the cost of building construction. Some methods of construction have been developed whereby the use of framework or trusses is eliminated. This usually reduces material cost and labor cost as well. One such construction is shown in US. Pat. 3,221,451 issued on Nov. 2, 1960 to Stolz.

However, by eliminating framework most of these constructions have sacrificed some of the structural strength of the buildings. Although the construction cost may be lower, the safety of these constructions may not compare too favorably with conventional framework or truss structures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention discloses a unique building construction which utilizes self-reinforcing arcuate preformed panel members eliminating the need for truss or framework. The panel members have concave outer faces providing generally perpendicular sides to allow joining of adjacent panel members and forming structural support for the building. Various cable arrangements may be provided for holding the building down and for retaining its shape. The arcuate configuration of the panels may be adapted for circular or elongated dome-like structures. Means for weather sealing the juncture of adjoining panels is disclosed.

3,546,826 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 "ice The resulting building is one which is quickly, easily and economically built with desirable aesthetic and structural strength characteristics. This construction has many uses ranging from playhouses to stadium enclosures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1, a circular dome-like building is shown constructed of a plurality of arcuately configured panel members 10 and 11 to be subsequently described. Members 11 do not extend completely to the ground to allow installation of entranceway 13. For this particular shaped building panel members are wider at the base a decreasing in width toward apex I]. A cap member 12 covers the converging ends of panel members 10 and 11 to provide weather protection for the building interior.

Other shaped buildings may also be constructed using similar construction. FIG. 2 shows the plan view looking toward the top of an elongated building which is constructed of two types of panel members. The ends are formed by arcuate panel members 14 similar to members 10 in FIG. 1. The intermediate building portion is formed by arcuate panel members 16 which are similar to panel members 14 except they have a uniform width from the building base to its apex. A cover cap 18 may run the entire length of the building apex.

The two type constructions shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 require no separate wall construction, the panels acting both as walls and roof. It can easily be seen however that the constructions shown may be used only for roofs attached to vertical wall structure if desired. It can also be seen that other building shapes may be constructed using the same basic types of panel members. The basic construction element of the invention is the panel member. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a member 20 such as 10 and 14 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively. The member may be made of different materials. A flame-proof polyester resin reinforced with glass fibers has been found desirable because it may be easily molded into the desired shape to create a lightweight member with high strength characteristics.

To increase the strength and rigidity of panel members and building insulation quality, a layer of flame-proof rigid urethane foam sprayed with a film of resin may be laminated to the panel member underside.

The crosssection of member 20 is generally a concavoconvex shape so that the sides 22 are approximately per pendicular to the horizontal plane. Since the panel members 20 are also curved from one end to the other each member has a double curvature throughout its length. This double curvature egg shell principle gives remarkable strength. Although this principle has been used in building generally, no one has designed a full length panel member which in itself incorporates the double curvature principle from one end to the other. The upper edges are inwardly bent to provide reinforcing flange lips 24.

For circular type construction the width of panel member uniformly decreases from the base A to apex B. For elongated construction the width would be the same throughout its length. At apex B an upwardly curving lip 26 is provided which when connected to other members forms a compression ring around a hole at the apex of the building. This hole may then be covered by a cap such as 12 in FIG. 1.

To form a building a plurality of members 20 are placed side by side and fastened together as shown in FIG. 4. A plywood strip 28 conforming to panel member curvature is sandwiched between the perpendicular sides 22 of adjacent panel members. Arcuate plywood strips 30 are laminated to the outer face of each member next to reinforcing flange lips 24. Carriage bolts 32 or other suitable fastening means are placed through holes at regular intervals along the longitudinal length of plywood strips 28 and 30 and perpendicular panel sides 22 and securely tightened. Thus, the panel members are held together forming a structural member which in cross-section resembles an I-beam. Strip 28 serves as a bed on which a hold-down cable 34 may be placed. Cable 34 is attached at the building base to the ground and to the apex of the building or the upper end of another cable attached to the ground directly on the oppo site side of the building. This cable may be placed in measured tension by a turnbuckle so that tension is maintained on all panel members.

To attain a weatherproof junction a sealing means such as split flexible plastic pipe 36 may be placed over adjacent upturned panel member sides running the entire length of the panel members. Plastic pipe 36 may be secured by clamps (not shown) or other suitable means.

Various cable arrangements, other than the hold-down cables previously described, may be used to improve the over-all strength and shape conformity of the building. Referring now to FIG. 5, the layout of preferred arrangements will be described. At various elevations, cables 40 may be attached to panel members 42' running horizontally from one side of the building to the opposite side. Turnbuckles 44 are provided to allow placing the cables and consequently the panel members in predetermined tension. This adds to the rigidity and strength of the build mg.

Cables 46 may also be installed around the interior of the building attached by linkage means 48 to panel members 42. Turnbuckles installed at several locations allow tension to be applied to the panel members. This also aids in increasing structural soundness of the building primarily by maintaining its shape.

Of course, doors and windows may be installed in buildings constructed according to the invention by either cutting out portions of panel members or installing members of different lengths such as 11 in FIG. 1. Many adaptations and variations other than those described may easily be made using the same basic panel member design without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention be limited in scope only by the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a frameless and trussless self-supporting building construction a plurality of arcuately configured panel members arranged side by side to form an enclosure, each of said panel members curving substantially throughout its length from the base of said enclosure to its apex, substantially the entire width of each of said panel members being defined by a concavo-convex cross-section so that each member has a double curvature substantially throughout its length and width, some of said panel members being of the same width throughout their lengths and forming the intermediate portion of said enclosure, other of said panel members decreasing in width in a continuous taper from said base to said apex and forming the ends of said enclosure.

2. The construction of claim 1 in which the concave side of said panel members faces outwardly of said enclosure presenting continuously curving and upwardly extending side portions throughout the length of each member, each of said panel members being joined to adjacent panel members at said side portions by fastening means.

3. The construction of claim 2 in which reinforcing lip means project inwardly of said side portions along the upper edge thereof, said lip means having substantially the same curvature as said panel member from said base of said enclosure to said apex.

4. The construction of claim 1 in which at least one cable anchored at one end to the ground is disposed along the entire length of at least one panel member externally of said enclosure to hold said enclosure to the ground.

5. The construction of claim 1 in which at least one cable circumscribes the interior of said enclosure in a horizontal plane, said cable being tied to each panel member for maintaining the shape of said enclosure in said horizontal plane.

6. In a frameless and trussless self-supporting building construction, a plurality of arcuately configured panel members arranged side by side to form a domelike enclosure, each of said panel members extending longitudinally continuously from the base to the apex of said enclosure and curving substantially throughout its length from said base to said apex, substantially the entire width of each of said panel members being defined by a concavo-convex cross-section so that each member has a double curvature substantially throughout its length and width, each of said panel members decreasing in width from said base to said apex.

7. The construction of claim -6 in which the concave side of said panel members faces outwardly of said enclosure presenting continuously curved and upwardly extending side portions throughout the length of each member, each of said panel members being joined to ad jacent panel members at said side portions by fastening means.

8. The construction of claim 7 in which lip means project inwardly of said side portions along the upper edge thereof, said lip means having substantially the same cur vature as said panel members from said base of said enclosure to said apex, a reinforcing member being sandwiched between the side portions of adjacent panel members so as to form an outwardly opened channel bed, at least one cable being laid in at least one of said beds and anchored to the ground for holding said enclosure to the ground.

9. The construction of claim 6 in which the apex end of each panel member is turned upwardly to form a compression ring around a generally circular hole.

10. In a frameless and trussless self-supporting building construction, a plurality of arcuately configured panel members arranged side by side to form an enclosure, each of said panel members curving substantially throughout its length from the base of said enclosure to its apex, each of said panel members having a concave-convex cross-section so that each member has a double curvature substantially throughout its length, the concave side of said panel members facing outwardly of said enclosure presenting upwardly extending side portions throughout the length of each member, each of said panel members being joined to adjacent panel members at said side portions by fastening means, a reinforcing member being sandwiched between the side portions of adjacent panel members so as to form an outwardly opened channel bed, at least one cable being laid in at least one of said beds and anchored to the ground for holding said enclosure to the ground.

11. In a frameless and trussless self-supporting building construction, a plurality of arcuately configured panel members arranged side by side to form a domelike enclosure, each of said panel members curving substantially throughout its length from the base of said enclosure to its apex, each of said panel members having a concaveconvex cross-section so that each member has a double curvature substantially throughout its length, each of said panel members decreasing in width from said base to said apex where the end of said panel members circumscribe a generally circular hole, the apex end of each panel member being turned upwardly to form a compression ring around said hole.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 26,165 2/1967 Stolz 5280 1,825,800 10/1931 Houseman 52-80 2,151,234 3/1939 Rutten et al. 5281 Messmore 52-73 Shankland 52-23 Pritzker 528OX Grirnelli et al. 52--23 Clay 52-23 McGowan 5281X Burke et al. 52-82 FOREIGN PATENTS Canada 52-630 US. Cl. X.R. 

